Paid Pokédex app arrives on iOS App Store, is Nintendo giving in?

Nintendo is showing signs that it is considering bringing its famous favourites such as Super Mario and Zelda to Apple's iOS devices.

Nintendo is showing signs that it is considering bringing its famous favourites such as Super Mario and Zelda to Apple's iOS devices.

A Nintendo-owned firm has launched its first paid iOS app, a mobile version of the existing 3DS Pokédex. It's currently available to download from iTunes in Japan.

Nintendo-owned developers and the co-creators of the Pokemon games series, Creatures Inc has included the details of 650 Pokémon characters in the informative app for gamers, and while this not seem like a major addition to the App Store, The Next Web hints that it could be "the sign of a more significant trend."

"While this isn't exactly Nintendo itself launching an iOS title and it is aimed at Japanese audiences, the move can be seen as a step closer to Nintendo titles gracing the App Store," says TNW. "Nintendo isn't so obstinate as to fail to acknowledge the benefits of Apple's content ecosystem."

Games such as Super Mario have been absent from the App Store, much to many iPad, iPhone and iPod owners' dismay, but is this the first sign that the famous characters could be gracing our touchscreens in the near future at last?

One forum user over at TNW said: "Think of the money they would make if they released Mario series, Smash Bros and Pokemon for iOS. It would put Nintendo back in the minds of the general public and that can only be a good thing."

Cult Of Mac believes that, if Nintendo fully embraced the App Store, it could be "a method of making some quick cash on a spin-off while keeping its main titles exclusive to its own consoles."

Would you like to see Nintendo launch its titles on iOS? Let us know in the comments section below or on Twitter.